The USS Oklahoma-- Part 2: Sister Ship of the USS Nevada

Here is the story of the USS Oklahoma.

In 1911, Congress authorized the building of two new battleships -- the Nevada and Oklahoma.  They were to be a modern symbol of U.S. power.  The New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey,  laid the keel of the USS Oklahoma in Otober 1912.

These two battleships were the first to burn  oil as fuel instead of coal.  The Oklahoma was commissioned in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1916.  The commissioning statement stated:  "That it was hoped that the Oklahoma might never become a mere instrument of destruction nor of strife, but a minister of  peace and a guardian of rights and interests of mankind, protecting the weak aganst the strong."

Attending the commissioning was  Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt,   As president, he would ask for a declaration of war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The USS Nevada was also at Pearl Harbor that day and was the only battleship  to get underway.

--GreGen